Copyright 2006 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
George Patton was a Second Lieutenant when he updated the technique for cavalry saber. Patton was a romantic when it came to anything military, especially cavalry. He fashioned himself a classic horse soldier in the Napoleonic mold. That love for traditional cavalry methods is seen in this drill. Patton's manual was revised by the Cavalry Board and accepted by the Army in March of 1914. You might be interested to know that Patton stressed the thrust over slashing and cutting .About 100 years before his manual, the French felt the same way. The British used the cut, and complained that French cavalrymen did not "fight fairly."
The plain fact about swords was that cavalrymen preferred to use rifles and carbines. Revolvers and repeating carbines meant less need for sabers. The day of the sword had pretty much faded by 1914. During General Pershing's expedition into Mexico in 1916, many cavalrymen jettisoned their straight-bladed Patton sabers. The sword was abandoned as a useless piece of impedimentia.
Patton's sword work has many interesting poses They are evident in the first part, which had men practicing the moves dismounted. A sculptor will find Patton's manual to be a great source of poses.
By the way, did you catch the mention of a "Patton" saber? Indeed, in 1913, George Patton designed a straight-bladed saber to replace the older models. The previous models were not much different from the Civil War. Patton sabers were issued to cavalrymen until 1934. Afterward, the days of the cavalry saber were over for the United States Army.
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Disclaimer: the fighting methods shown here are for illustrative purposes only. They are not intended as actual instruction in bayonet fighting and should not be used as such. Close combat training is dangerous. It can be as dangerous for the user as it is for the target. If you wish to learn close combat, seek a qualified instructor. One should never attempt close combat without the instruction and supervision of a qualified expert instructor .